OpenTG is now IonFalls

Goodbye: OpenTG (Telegard/2)

In 2008, I set out to create a BBS software project with the hopes of both learning more about programming and building a system that mimicked the look, feel, and functionality of the original Telegard software. I put about 2 years of solid work into the software and ended up with something that was incomplete, but well on the way to being functional. As life often does, work and family distracted me and placed the project on hold. Recently, as I resurrected the code in 2018, I began to refactor and update many of the components. I decided to explore some other software from that era to explore ideas and focus on improving the existing functionality. What I learned is there were many amazing pieces of software developed, lots of heated discussions about which BBS software was best, and demonstrations of pride from those folks who either operated a BBS or participated in the development of some of these software systems.

The original name of OpenTG was shortened from the project’s first iteration as OpenTelegard. As I have explored systems such as Tag, Maximus, VBBS, WWIV to name a few, I have found that while functionally similar, they each offer an interface and workflow that made each system unique. My goal for this project has always been to release a functional piece of software that can be used in production and live on for many years to come. The idea of cloning one system is incompatible with innovation and improvements on the old ideas. I have therefore decided to disassociate the Telegard name from this project.

IonFalls

Ion: any atom or group of atoms that bears one or more positive or negative electrical charges.

Falls: a place where something flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a stream or river.

IonFalls – In science fiction, a phenomenon of ionic particles flowing over a cliff.